AI
Hermes Agent Startup Nous Research Raises $75M+ at $1.5B Valuation
The open-source AI agent platform is securing new funding just months after closing a Series A, signaling strong investor demand for autonomous task-automation tools.
TechCrunch — AI
Nous Research, the company behind the popular Hermes agent platform, is securing at least $75 million in fresh capital in a round led by Robot Ventures that values the startup at $1.5 billion, according to multiple sources familiar with the transaction. The funding includes contributions from Union Square Ventures and other established investors.
The rapid capital injection underscores growing enthusiasm for AI agents capable of automating tasks on local machines and cloud infrastructure. Nous was founded in 2023 by Jeffrey Quesnelle, Karan Malhotra, Ryan Teknium, and Shivani Mitra, and has previously raised $70 million from backers including Paradigm, Robot Ventures, and North Island Ventures.
What Hermes Does#
Hermes is an open-source AI agent that runs either on a user's desktop or on a virtual server, allowing people to delegate tasks like web searches, coding, and image analysis. The platform gained traction after launching as a competitor to OpenClaw, another locally-run agent that went viral weeks earlier. Unlike some alternatives, Hermes arrived with pre-built capabilities—called "skills"—and can learn from user behavior to develop new abilities automatically. Users can interact with Hermes directly or receive updates via messaging apps like Telegram and Discord, making it possible to manage agents remotely around the clock.
The open-source version has proven popular among developers: the project has accumulated approximately 214,000 GitHub stars and nearly 40,000 forks.
Business Model and Expansion#
Beyond the free, open-source edition, Nous Research operates a cloud-hosted version available through subscription tiers ranging from $20 to $200 monthly. The company also maintains a decentralized network enabling participants to contribute hardware for compute and model training. Separately, Nous has released specialized language models focused on coding and mathematical problem-solving.
The timing of this funding round is notable—it arrives less than three months after Nous announced its $50 million Series A. The new capital is expected to accelerate product development and broaden the company's market reach, though executives declined to elaborate on specific plans.
